JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — FIU's men's basketball program fell in its Conference USA (CUSA) opener on the road, 70-63, on Saturday evening.

Down 40-28 at the half, the Panthers (5-11, 0-1 CUSA) continued to chip away, cutting the Gamecocks' (9-7, 1-0 CUSA) lead to just three with 5:48 to go. 

FIU had chances to tie the game as both sides battled back-and-forth, but a JSU three-pointer from KyKy Tandy put Jax State up six with 2:48 to go, sealing the result. Tandy scored 23 first-half points and a game-high 35 points on 7-for-12 shooting from deep. 

For the Panthers, Okechukwu Okeke provided a spark in the final frame of the bench, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half. Javaunte Hawkins led FIU in scoring with 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field. 

Jayden Brewer added 13 points, 10 in the first half, and had five rebounds in 22 minutes. Arturo Dean racked up four steals to maintain his lead atop the national ranks and chipped in nine points, five rebounds and five assists. 

As a team, FIU shot just 3-for-17 from deep while Jax State made seven threes, of which all seven came from Tandy. The Panthers' defense forced 20 turnovers and racked up 11 steals. 

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FIU will have its CUSA home opener on Thursday, January 11 at 7 p.m. against New Mexico State inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.